If you love to cook and love eating good food, then you will love my pages. I was born and raised in the deep South. That is where we love drinking sweet tea and eating fresh green beans cooked with bacon. The recipes are not all "mine" but are recipes that I seem to want to cook repeatedly. I hope you enjoy and are inspired to try them yourself.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Caponata Eggplant Relish from Simply Recipes

Ingredients

1 globe eggplant or 4 Japanese eggplants diced

Salt

4 Tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 small onion, minced

1 celery stalk, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

4-6 plum tomatoes, finely chopped

1/2 cup pitted green olives, finely chopped

1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

2 to 3 Tbsp small capers, drained

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 to 3 Tablespoons sugar

1 Tablespoon tomato paste

1/4 cup chopped basil

Preparation

1. Toss the diced eggplant with about 2 tablespoons salt and put into a large bowl. Cover the bowl with a plate that just about fits the bowl and weigh it down with a heavy can. Let this sit for 1 hour. Drain the eggplant, rinse with fresh water and pat dry with paper towels.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and celery, season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally until the onion begins to soften - about 5 minutes. Add the garlic. Cook 1-2 minutes more. Remove from the skillet and set aside.

3. Wipe the pan with a paper towel, turn the heat to high and add the remaining olive oil. Let this heat until the oil is nearly smoking. Add the eggplant and spread it out in as thin a layer as you can in the skillet. Let this sizzle for 1-2 minutes before stirring, then let it sit for a full minute before stirring again. Cook like this for 5-6 minutes.